Then what?
This is perhaps one of the most important, paradigm-shifting questions for our generation, and it was the question ringing through the sanctuary at 33 Live on the night of October 14, 2009. Pastor Christopher Hopper, “the crazy bald white guy,” looked out on a flock of over 80 students and challenged them with one question. Then what? So you want to go to college. Then what? You want to get married. Then what? You want to be a doctor. Then what?
After spending an afternoon at Salmon Run Mall, simply observing a lost generation, he brokenly told us that right now in our culture there are many people whose lives are going no where that think they are going somewhere. But something in all of us longs for eternity. It is the most important thing. Jesus Christ was the biggest culture-shaper ever known to man, and we are called to be such. So what are we going to do with such responsibility? You are here to rock Jefferson county, no matter how “ugly, untalented, or smelly” you think you are. It is not an option, but a mandate. What are you going to do with your gifts and passions? Why not use them on a national level? Eternity is the most important thing…and there are people on the brink of spending it in Hell. We are here for such a time as this!
The call had gone forth, and it was taken up and answered by all present. Students of all ages and backgrounds got together in small groups and filled out “VIP lists,” listing ten people they have in their lives that are not yet saved, who are going nowhere but think they are going somewhere. They signed an agreement that acknowledged the truth about eternity, the Father’s heart for the lost, and committed to pray for these “Very Important People” on a daily basis. As a kick off of this agreement, 33 Live students prayed corporately in their small groups, shaking the invisible for the Kingdom of God. If we truly believe in the power of prayer, we can look forward to over eight hundred souls in and around Jefferson County being added to the number of those experiencing life!
To describe it simply, it was a night of stirring. From the moment one walked in and saw the worshipers pouring forth their praise, until the last ‘amen‘ was said on prayers for the lost, students were being spurred on toward the Father’s heart. Far be it from coincidence that the last song sung before Pastor Christopher’s call to action cried out: “Break my heart for what breaks Yours / Everything I am for Your Kingdom’s cause / As I walk from earth into eternity.” An army is rising up that will both dance in the joy and love of the Lord, and yet be willing to be broken with truth, and appalled into action. The call remains: Then what? Let us be the ones that stand and say, “I’ve got eternity on the mind, and I will not rest until my generation is shaken and shaped for the cause of Christ.” lt:
Gifted writing l.t. Thanks for providing a way for out-of-town people to stay updated and connected to all of you in N.Y. We rejoice from the West Coast in what our Lord is stirring in the East. Pastor Christopher’s song was certainly a prophetic cry! Even the title “Hosanna” is defined in my Bible as “save now, we beseech You.” We sing it often in our morning watch at the Three Rivers House of Prayer on the days we pray over the mountain of Education, and for our youth. I especially love the verse “I see a generation, rising up to take her place, with selfless faith.” Let it be so, Lord…from East to West!